Many machines and operations use compressed gas or liquid as a source of power. With such fluid systems, a compressor is provided as a source of the compressed fluid, and a series of output conduits direct the compressed fluid to the receiving machine inlets. If the inlets are provided at distant locations, separate conduits for each inlet must be provided, resulting in a cumbersome, complicated, and costly system.
At the receiving machine inlet, a valve is provided to control fluid flow to the receiving machine. With prior art systems, the valves are only provided with coaxial inlets and outlets, i.e., an inlet in the back, and an outlet out the front and leading to the receiving machine. If the machine or operation is configured such that the conduit leading from the compressor does not make a direct, straight connection to the receiving machine, a "T" adapter, and additional tubing are required to make the angular transition. This also makes for a costly, and difficult to modify, system.
Moreover, with prior art systems, if the machine is designed such that the inlets are arranged in relatively close proximity, the above-identified problems are exacerbated in that the additional tubing and adapters are all confined to a relatively small area. This not only makes for difficult assembly, but difficult access for repair and maintenance as well. The prior art provides no form of manifold or manifold assembly which enables multiple receiving machines to be fed from a single inlet to the manifold to thereby eliminate costly and cumbersome adapters and excess tubing.
Prior art valves have disclosed means of connecting two or more substantially similar valves together to form a manifold. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,297,576, issued to Miller discloses a valve arrangement which allows multiple valves to be tied together, and wherein each valve includes a distinct inlet but the valve manifold combines all of the inflowing fluid into a single output. A single control shaft is provided with cams attached at each valve to control the amount of inflowing fluid being combined in a given proportion. Other types of stack valves are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,111,392 to Beckett and U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,191 to Schaefer.
A still further valve manifold or stack assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,846 issued to Framberg. However, as with the aforementioned prior art, it fails to disclose a fluid valve and manifold assembly wherein a plurality of modular valves can either be connected directly adjacent one another, or can be connected at a spaced distance. Moreover, the prior art fails to disclose the aforementioned valve and manifold assembly wherein each valve includes an independent means of flow control. The prior art also fails to provide a modular valve block which enables adjacent blocks to be connected together at any angular disposition relative to each other across a full 360.degree. arc.